Variable Key Terms

• assignment
  • A statement that assigns a value to a variable.
• concatenate
  • To join two operands end to end.
• comment
  • Information in a program that is meant for other programmers (or anyone reading the source code) and has no effect on the execution of the program.
• escape character
  • A character which invokes an alternative interpretation on subsequent characters in a character sequence.
• evaluate
  • To simplify an expression by performing the operations in order to yield a single value.
• expression
  • A combination of variables, operators, and values that represents a single result value.
• floating point
  • A type that represents numbers with fractional parts.
• floor division
  • The operation that divides two numbers and chops off the fractional part.
• integer
  • A type that represents whole numbers.
• keyword
  • A reserved word that is used by the compiler to parse a program; you cannot use keywords like if, def, and while as variable names.
• mnemonic
  • A memory aid. We often give variables mnemonic names to help us remember what is stored in the variable.
• modulus operator
  • An operator, denoted with a percent sign (%), that works on integers and yields the remainder when one number is divided by another.
• operand
  • One of the values on which an operator operates.
• operator
  • A special symbol that represents a simple computation like addition, multiplication, or string concatenation.
• rules of precedence
  • The set of rules governing the order in which expressions involving multiple operators and operands are evaluated.
• statement
  • A section of code that represents a command or action. So far, the statements we have seen are assignments and print statements.
• string
  • A type that represents sequences of characters.
• type
  • A category of values. The types we have seen so far are integers (type int), floating-point numbers (type float), and strings (type str).
• value
  • One of the basic units of data, like a number or string, that a program manipulates.
• variable
  • A name that refers to a value.